Essays in empirical taxation and empirical public economics

Abstract

This dissertation is composed of three independent chapters. Each chapter consists of a self-contained empirical study from the field of taxation. Chapter 1 quantifies unintended consequences of the EITC a negative income tax in the US aiming to increase labor force participation and to fight poverty. Chapter 2 studies individual preferences for tax simplification. It is shown that preferences are elastic to arguments against tax simplification. Chapter 3 analyses the effects of a capital gains tax which was designed to deter individual investors from speculating on stock markets